8 The Holodeck
by miss37
Summary: The new Enterprise has a holodeck. It is new technology. Carol asks Jim to join her there to work on a holo-novel, but what happens when the holodeck is hijacked by an unknown program designed to take over at the sound of Jim's voice? Who is capable of trapping them in the holodeck...even from the grave?
1. Chapter 1

_…for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, for better or worse…on a planet or in space…_

Carol Marcus sat straight up in bed from a dream she was having. She had dreamed that she and Jim Kirk were getting married. They had been engaged for four months now. She loved Jim, but she was not sure he was going to want to stay out of space when his five year mission was over. She looked at the ring he had given her. She knew he loved her, but he was a Starfleet captain. Would he really want to give up his ship to sit behind a desk…just so _she_ would be happy? What about _his_ happiness?

Later that day, Jim was sitting in his chair on the Bridge when Carol came onto the Bridge. "Jim, let's have lunch today," she said.

"Sure," Jim replied. "Where have you been all morning?"

"Working. There is work that goes into keeping a star ship functioning properly."

Jim smiled. "I know that. I'll see you at lunch then."

"Okay."

Jim went back to reading. Their next mission…he wondered why Starfleet had to send them missions when they were in deep space to discover whatever they could find out there. However, when these missions were ordered, they had to follow the orders. This one would take them through an uncharted part of space, which meant they would be charting it. Jim supposed that was the reason for it was to discover that part of space.

Spock came onto the Bridge and stood beside Jim. "I have studied our new mission," he said. "Why is this part of space so interesting to Starfleet?"

"I guess because it's uncharted," Jim replied. "I guess they want it to be charted."

"Do they know if there are planets there?"

"I guess we'll find that out too."

"We are once again going into the…temporarily hidden."

Jim smiled. "Exactly. I hope we won't run into any crazed maniacs bent on revenge or dominance."

"It has been quite peaceful since we solved the bounty hunter problem."

"I can definitely do without problems like that."

Just then, the communicator whistled. "Captain," Scotty said.

"Yes, Mister Scott," Jim answered.

"I would like to do some routine maintenance on the warp drive before we go out into the unknown."

"That shouldn't be a problem."

"I would like the ship to be stopped. Should take at least one day."

"At least?"

"Yes, sir. This is a long journey, and it takes its toll on a ship this size when the engines are constantly…"

"Okay, Mister Scott. I get the picture. We'll stop as soon as we see a good stopping place."

"Captain, there's just a lot of empty space out here," Sulu said. "It shouldn't matter where we stop."

"Alright then. Let's shut down and give them time to work."

"Yes sir."

The ship was soon stopped. Jim stood up. "Mister Spock, I'm going to have lunch with Carol," he said. "Everything here should be okay for now."

"Yes Captain," Spock replied. "I will inform you if anything unexpected happens."

"Let's hope it won't."

Jim turned and left the Bridge. He was looking forward to sitting and talking to Carol for a while. He thought she must want to talk about something.

As Jim was walking down the corridor toward Carol's quarters, he met Solan. "Are you helping Scotty with that maintenance?" Jim asked.

"I'm the one who always has to crawl down the access tubes," Solan replied. "He's always saying _if I have anything to do with the design of the next ship, the access tubes are not going to be crawl spaces."_

Jim chuckled at Solan's mockery of Scotty's accent. "That sounds like him."

"Then he goes into this rant about how _we all learned to walk when we were two, and it's irrational to think that we want to crawl now_."

"I've never understood why they were made that way, but it's probably so the different systems can be accessed from either side."

"So, don't make a ten foot ceiling."

"Anyway, I have to go eat lunch with Carol."

"Oh sure. The captain gets to have lunch with a beautiful woman, and we have to do all the dirty work. Just remember how uncomfortable my knees are when you're sitting in there smooching."

Jim stopped and looked around at Solan as they had started walking on toward their destinations. He shook his head and went on noticing some grins from people he passed by who had heard that. However, they straightened up when he came by. He would have to remind Solan of protocol when he was speaking to the captain.

Jim walked on down to Carol's quarters and rang the door chime. "Come in!" she called from within and the door opened.

Jim went in and could not help but notice the soft piano music that was playing. There was a table with a white table cloth which had candles and everything else, but he did not see Carol. "I'm here!" he called.

"I know, my darling."

Jim was a little surprised at that. He could not remember her ever calling him that. He stood there a moment. "Carol, where are you?"

"I'll be out in a minute. Just have a seat."

Jim thought he would rather stand. He was starting to feel a little nervous. He hoped his captain's uniform was good enough for a formal dinner…or at least, he was beginning to think that was what this was going to be.

Carol soon came from the other room and she was dressed in a "little black dress". Jim just stood there a moment not knowing what to say. "You like it?" she asked as she turned.

"Uh, yes," Jim said. "You look beautiful…as usual."

Carol smiled. "You're quite a charmer."

"I didn't know we were having a formal dinner."

"It's not formal. Besides, your captain's uniform is quite good enough. Shall we sit?"

"Of course." Jim pulled the chair out for Carol and then sat down himself. "The table looks great too."

"Watch this." Carol pressed a button, and they waited.

"What are we waiting for?" Jim asked.

"You'll see. So what kind of maintenance is Scotty doing?"

"The usual stuff. He doesn't want us to be stranded out there in unknown space, although I don't see how that's different than being stranded anywhere else, unless we were on a planet."

"Jim…I love you."

"I love you too. It gets easier to say that all the time."

"I had a strange dream this morning."

"Uh oh. Was it about me?"

"You were definitely in it."

"What? Did I fall out of my chair?"

"No. I dreamed we were getting married…and I said _on a planet or in space_ for one of my lines in my vows."

Jim just stared at her a moment. "I knew there was a purpose for all this. Why did you dream that? Are you still worried about that?"

"I wouldn't say I'm worried…and what do you mean you knew there was a purpose for this?"

"Uh, I mean…well…" Jim knew he had said the wrong thing now. "Well, it's unusual for us to have lunch like this…" He felt like he was in one of his negotiations which never turned out quite right.

"Jim, just stop. I wanted to talk, and yes, I still think of it sometimes. You said you would stay on a planet so that I would be happy. But what about your happiness? Are you going to truly be happy not being in space?"

"Carol, I don't want to go into this again."

Carol leaned on the table. "I've changed my mind," she said.

The surprise on Jim's face was painfully clear, and she knew what he thought. "No, let me explain," she said.

"You don't mean that you have changed your mind about getting married, do you?" Jim asked. "I don't want you to change your mind…"

"Wait. That is not what I meant. I meant that it is quite selfish of me to expect you to give up space travel for good."

"What are you saying?"

"That if you take a mission in space, I'll simply have to go with you."

Jim was dumbfounded for a moment as he could see that she meant what she was saying. "I think that I might become quite bored myself if we never traveled anymore," she said. "But I do want us to have a permanent home that we call home, and that we go back to once we are done with our mission."

"Oh. Yeah…but you do realize that if I become an admiral, I won't have a ship anymore."

Carol smiled. "Jim, if there's one thing that you do, it's change things from the normal."

"Well, I'm not sure they're going to change that rule for me."

"You'll find a way. Besides, you don't have to be on an Enterprise to do anything."

Just then, the door chime rang. Carol smiled. "Come in," she said and the door opened.

Derenda came in with a table which had several covered dishes on it. Jim could definitely smell the food already, and it did not smell like anything replicated. Derenda was the on-ship chef and she did not replicate everything. She cooked since they were in space all the time. They loaded up on stores when they had to and she had kept everything going well.

"Lunch is served," she said and uncovered the food. She fixed a plate for each of them and then left the room. "If you need anything else, just ask."

"I take it this is not replicated," Jim said.

"No, it's not," Carol replied. "After lunch, I want us to go to the holodeck. I have something special planned."

"Oh, so we're going to play in there too, huh?"

"Yes. I want to show you my novel, and you can be part of it."

"Me?"

"Wouldn't you like to help me write it?"

"I don't think I consider myself much of a writer. You should hear my captain's log."

"You don't have to be a writer. You can just make suggestions and if I like it, we'll go with it."

"So you're writing a holo-novel. Isn't that kinda weird?"

"It takes some getting used to but Beverly over in engineering said that it's quite fun once you get the hang of it."

"Oh. Okay. Well, I'm willing to try anything."

"Jim…" Carol was not sure what she wanted to say next. "I think we're going to be very happy together."

"I agree," Jim said. "Is there a such thing as _too_ happy?"

"I don't think so."

When they were done eating, Carol changed into jeans and a t-shirt. "This is going to be a very informal novel," she said.

"So, I should change too?" Jim asked.

"I'll meet you there."

"Right."

Jim went to his quarters and changed, and when he walked out, Bones was about to ring the door chime. "Bones, do you always have to startle me like that?" Jim asked.

"Well, I guess so," Bones replied. He looked at how Jim was dressed. "You going casual today?"

"I'm on my way to the holodeck to meet Carol."

"Oh. What is Scotty doing to the ship?"

"He's doing maintenance," Jim said as they began walking.

"Is that all? There's not something you're keeping from the rest of us, is there?"

Jim stopped and looked at Bones. "You know if there was something wrong you would be one of the first to know."

"Right. I just wanta make sure we're not experiencing some cataclysmic warp melt down that's going to kill us all before we know what's happening."

Jim shook his head. He thought he should have known that was coming. "Bones, as far as I know, we're not going to die from what he doing," he said.

"So, is this a private holodeck thing, or can I join you guys?"

"You'll have to ask Carol that, but I think we were kinda wanting to be alone. Why?"

"I'm bored out of my gourd. I think I'm getting too used to these dangerous missions we go on."

"You're just an adventurous soul."

"I must be crazy. I've been around you too long. Even Spock is suffering from this syndrome."

"Spock? He doesn't get bored."

"He likes jumping into the middle of a situation."

"That's the only way to solve a problem…from the middle. You just work your way out."

They arrived at the holodeck, and Jim looked at Bones who was waiting for him to open the door. Jim just rolled his eyes and opened the door. They were looking into what looked like a countryside. "Good grief," Bones said. "If I didn't know better, I would think I was in Kentucky."

"Or Iowa," Jim said. "Hey, Carol!"

"I'm over here, Jim!" Carol called sounding rather far away.

Jim and Bones were on what looked like a dirt road in the middle of fields of corn. "Carol, I don't think I like this story already!" Jim said. "I saw all the corn fields I wanted to see while I was growing up!"

"That goes for both of us!" Bones added.

"Shut up. You're not supposed to be here yet."

"Excuse me."

They walked on down the _dirt road._ Jim looked around them and was amazed at how it actually looked real. He had not gotten used to holodecks yet. "Can we actually touch the corn?" he asked.

Bones moved over to the side and touched the stalk of corn. "Yeah, we can touch it," he said. He rubbed the corn leaf between his fingers. "Feels real too."

Jim went over and touched the corn himself. "This is just kinda eerie."

"I don't know if I'll ever get used to this technology. I mean, how does it…how do you feel something like that?"

"Don't ask me. Why would she want a story in a corn field?"

"Hey, a lot of interesting stuff can happen in a corn field," Bones said.

Jim looked at him. "You would know that, wouldn't you?"

"Of course."

"Carol!" Jim called again.

"Over here, Jim!" Carol replied. "I'm at the big, white house."

"What…" Jim looked at Bones. "I guess we just keep walking till we can spot it over this corn."

"Definitely like the real thing," Bones declared.

They walked down the dirt road until they finally saw a mailbox and could see the top of a house. "I think we've had our walking today," Bones said.

"On a dirt road," Jim replied.

They turned onto the small driveway where there was definitely a big white house sitting that looked like something from the 1800's. They stood and looked at it a moment. "I sure never lived in anything like that in Iowa," Jim said.

"There were a lot of those houses in Kentucky," Bones replied. "Ranches with horses…even when I was growing up."

"We just lived on a…"

Just then, Carol came from the house. "What do you think?" she asked.

"About what?" Jim asked.

"The house."

"Nice. What's this story about? A cornfield?"

"Jim, don't be so sarcastic."

"I'm not being sarcastic. This looks like Iowa."

"It _is_ Iowa."

"Why are we in Iowa?"

"It's a love story, Jim."

"In Iowa."

"Yes. I always wondered what it would have been like to meet you when you were in Iowa."

Bones snickered at that. Jim narrowed his eyes at him. "It's just funny," Bones said. "You haven't told her how you were then?"

"Maybe his life would have been different if I had been around," Carol said.

"Well, you could be right."

"Bones came along to be a nuisance," Jim said.

Carol smiled at the reaction Bones had to that. "You two are hilarious," she said. "I've done quite a bit of work on this novel so far. We can either play the main characters and see where it goes, or we can just be extra ones."

"So you're creating this as we go?"

"That's how it works, Jim."

"This ought to be fun," Bones said.

Jim pointed to Bones. "I hope you don't mind that he tagged along."

"No, that's fine," Carol said. "He can be an extra character. The antagonist."

"Antagonist?" Bones asked. "Do I get to aggravate him?"

"Of course."

"Then I'm in."

Jim thought he should have expected that. "You would be."

"What do we do first?" Bones asked.

"You can…"

Just then, everything went dark and then came back on…but they were not in the Iowa cornfield anymore. "What just happened?" Jim asked. "Is that supposed to happen?"

"No," Carol said as she was pressing buttons on her controller. "We're not even in my holo-novel anymore."

They were in what looked like a cave, and it was lit with red lighting. "So just change it back," Bones said.

"I'm trying to, but it's not responding."

"What do you mean, it's not responding?" Jim asked. "You mean this thing is out of control?"

"I wouldn't say that. It just switched to another program."

"Like what?"

"Maybe one of the original programs…I suppose it was to just get us started."

"This is some start," Bones declared. "A dark cave."

"It's only one of them."

"Where is this supposed to be?" Jim asked.

Carol looked at him. "It's some sort of training program for combat with Klingons," she said.

Jim and Bones were both visibly disturbed by that fact. "Change it back," they both said at the same time. They thought the corn field was starting to look better all the time.

"I can't…and there's a warning too that the safety protocols are off."

"Jim, when I get out of here, remind me how dangerous holodecks are the next time I think of going into one," Bones said.

"Look, let's just not panic," Jim said. "Let's just get out of the holodeck. There's supposed to be a way out." He looked up. "Computer, end this program."

" _Unable to comply."_

"What? Why?"

 _"Program parameters are not clear."_

They noticed there was a slight glitch in the computer's voice that time. "Jim, I think we're in trouble," Bones said.

Jim grabbed his communicator. "Spock…"


	2. Chapter 2

Spock was sitting in the captain's chair studying a readout when the com whistled at him. "Spock here," he said.

"Spock, we're having some trouble in the holodeck," Jim said. "You got any idea what's going on?"

"What sort of trouble are you having, Captain?"

"Well…we were writing a holo-novel, and suddenly, we're in a cave in a program for combat with Klingons."

Spock stood up. "Captain, are you in danger?"

"I don't know yet, but this thing says the safety protocols are off…we can't control it."

"Jim, your signal is breaking up."

"Spock…"

"Captain?"

The signal went out completely. "Mister Sulu, you have the con," Spock said and left the Bridge. He switched to a different frequency on his communicator. "Mister Scott."

Scotty grabbed his communicator. "Scotty here," he answered.

"Mister Scott, has anything unusual happened in Engineering?" Spock asked.

"We had a little glitch earlier…kinda like a small power surge. I don't know where it came from. It wasn't anything we were doing."

"Did it come from outside the ship?"

Scotty was silent for a moment. "I don't think so, Commander. Is there a problem?"

"Yes, Mister Scott. The captain is trapped in the holodeck. He was able to get a message to me, but his signal went out. He said that they were creating a holo-novel when the program changed on its own, and took them into a program for combat against Klingons, and the safety protocols are off."

Scotty stood up and Solan did as well. "We will get right on it, Sir!" Scotty said.

"Can they be harmed, Mister Scott?" Spock asked. "I do not have much experience with these programs."

Scotty looked at Solan. "Sir, as much as I have read about them, when those safety protocols are off, it's the same as reality. They can even be killed."

"We should act fast, Mister Scott."

Spock arrived at the holodeck door. He pressed the code to enter but nothing happened. "Computer, override the program in the holodeck," he said. "Authorization four-nine-nine-two."

" _Unable to comply."_

"Clarify."

 _"The program in progress can only be stopped when it is completed."_

Spock was rather confused now. "What is the completion?"

" _Unclear."_

"Who created this program?"

 _"Author unknown."_

"What is its origin?"

 _"Unknown."_

"Computer, was this program installed at the same time as the holodeck programs?"

 _"Unknown."_

Spock thought this had been programmed so that the computer would have no information about it. Scotty soon arrived at the holodeck. "Mister Scott, I believe we are in deeper trouble than we thought," Spock said. "This is more serious than just a malfunction."

"What do you mean?" Scotty asked.

"This was something done on purpose. Are you certain that there was no interference from outside the ship?"

"Not that I know of, Sir."

"We must get the captain and whomever is with him out of this holodeck. I believe their lives are in grave danger."

Jim, Bones, and Carol stood in the cave, and they realized there were weapons on the walls. "Jim, I do not like this," Bones said.

"Neither do I," Jim replied as he was backed up against the wall of the cave. "I have the feeling something is going on here besides some wrong program."

"How could this happen?" Carol asked.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling we better grab these weapons."

Jim grabbed a bat'leth and hung it over his shoulder and strapped a blaster around his waist. Carol and Bones did the same thing. "Jim, the next time I butt into one of your outings with Carol, just punch me," Bones said.

"Believe it or not, I'm glad you're here, Bones," Jim replied.

"Why? So I can try to sew you up if you get cut in half?"

"Yeah. Something like that."

"Why does it have to be Klingons? And who would program something like this?"

Just then, what looked like a view screen appeared on the side of the cave they were facing. Jim thought he was more than startled now. "Jim!" Carol exclaimed.

"This can't be," Bones declared.

"Captain Kirk," Khan's image said. "I know you're very surprised to see me. I'm assuming that I'm dead or frozen, or this program would not be running. I programmed it just for you. You see, I did not intend for you to escape…even if I didn't succeed. Since I know the betrayal of humans, I was sure you might find a way to beat me. However, you will not live through this program. It was created to take control once you entered the holodeck for the tenth time. Even I prepare for the unexpected. Die with honor… _Captain."_

The image disappeared. Bones and Carol looked at Jim. "Are you kidding me?!" Bones asked. "He's trying to kill you from the grave!?"

"Jim, what do we do?" Carol asked.

"We just do what we always do," Jim said when he finally thought he could talk. He certainly had not forgotten the last time he tangled with Khan. He thought he could feel that ache in his hip now. "We'll just face whatever happens."

"Jim, we're talking about Klingons!" Bones said.

"We've faced Klingons before, Bones," Jim replied. "We just have to do what we have to do."

"You think the others know we're in trouble?"

"I would think so. I talked to Spock enough to relay that we're in trouble." Jim stood there a moment. "I guess we should try to find our way out of here."

"Don't you think that's just what he wants us to do?"

"What are we gonna do? Stand here?"

"I would rather just stand here than meet up with a Klingon. Jim, I'm a doctor, not a fighter."

Bones was standing with his back against the wall, and Jim could see he was truly terrified. "Well, you were saying earlier that you were bored out of your gourd," he said trying to lighten the mood.

"I take it back," Bones replied. "I'll go back in the gourd and stay for the rest of my life."

"Will you two stop it?" Carol asked. "This is no time for jokes."

Jim looked at Carol. "Alright, let's just try to find a way out of here and maybe we can avoid Klingons," he said. "Let's just try not to panic."

Jim moved first, and the other two followed him, all of them with their weapons ready. Jim thought he was going to start sweating. "Is it just me, or is it hot in here?" he asked.

"I don't know," Bones said. "I think we're all nervous."

"Yeah…but, doesn't it feel warm in here?"

"Yes," Carol said. "There's definitely something wrong."

"Is this some sort of Klingon training ground?"

"Jim, we don't exactly know a lot about the Klingons."

"I know but we know some."

They came to the end of a tunnel, and Jim looked both ways. "I don't see anything," he whispered.

"Which way should we go?" Carol asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Jim decided to go right. "Come on."

Spock, Scotty, and Solan were still outside the holodeck. "This program was started by a timer," Scotty said.

"Who programmed it?" Spock asked.

"I don't know. It's very complicated. It's been routed through several systems and…there's no way to stop it as far as I can see."

"Can you beam them out of the holodeck?"

"I don't think so."

"Can you beam someone in?"

"Whoever programmed this did not intend for us to be able to help the captain."

"How do you know it was intended to trap the captain?"

"From the information that I'm getting, it looks like it was triggered by his voice on the holodeck."

"How could that be possible?"

"Well, his voice print is in the system. All someone had to do was use it for the trigger."

"But who would do that?" Solan asked. "How could someone get into the systems on this ship? Was it done from inside?"

"Yes, and there's no way of knowing when."

"So someone's been on the ship…there have been several on the ship who weren't so friendly toward us."

Spock was thinking while he paced back and forth behind them. "It is logical to believe that whoever did this believed they would not be around to seek revenge on the captain, and therefore programmed the holodeck to capture him using his voice. They must have had a timer of some sort. Who would have the knowledge to program the holodeck in this fashion?"

"Not me," Scotty said. "This is supposed to be new technology. How does anyone know how to do it?"

"There have been occasions that those who were onboard were less than friendly," Spock said. "However, there has been only one instance that one who possessed such knowledge used the Enterprise without our knowledge."

Scotty looked at Spock. "Who?" he asked, but then his mouth dropped open. "That was on Pacifica, right?"

"He definitely had the expertise to do something like this."

"Are you guys going to let me in on this genius?" Solan asked.

Scotty and Spock looked at Solan, realizing that he was not aboard the Enterprise when they encountered Khan on Pacifica, nor the first time. "A being you never want to encounter, Laddy," Scotty said. "It was Khan."

"Khan? Who's that?"

"For now, you should know that he was a super genius," Spock said. "One of the cruelest and most ruthless enemies we have ever encountered."

Solan absorbed that a moment. "So, how do we defeat him now?" he asked.

"I am not certain, but we must be very careful." Spock looked at Scotty. "Mister Scott, we must be sure that there is no trigger mechanism to destroy the ship."

Scotty's mouth dropped open. "How do we do that?"

"As carefully as possible, and we should get this ship somewhere that we can evacuate the crew if necessary. The captain would want us to protect them if at all possible."

"Right."

"I will inform Mister Sulu to move us out of this area and to the nearest planet. Do not attempt to do anything without double checking."

"Yes sir."

Jim was glad he was wearing a t-shirt, although it was already wet with sweat. He turned around another curve in the tunnel they were in, which seemed endless. "You got any indication where the door is?" he asked.

"No," Carol said. "My controller is worthless. Jim, how did this happen?"

"I don't know, but I hope Spock and the others can figure out what's going on here."

Just then, they heard something down the tunnel they were in. Jim stopped in his tracks, and Carol grabbed his arm. Bones blew out a nervous breath. "Jim, I don't like this," he said.

"I don't either, but right now it doesn't seem like we have a choice," Jim replied. "You know he's got it programmed to make sure we encounter some Klingons."

"Can they kill us?"

"According to the design of this, they can," Carol said.

"I can't imagine Khan making this any less lethal than he is." Bones leaned back against the wall. "Can you imagine, invulnerable Klingons?"

Jim had not thought of that. "Bones, let's just hope he didn't do that."

"You think I'm not?"

Jim turned the opposite direction that they heard the Klingon voice coming from. He kept his blaster ready, and the others did too as they moved down that tunnel toward whatever they would find. Jim figured they did not have much choice.

They soon came to another branch in the tunnel that seemed endless. They turned toward the left this time, and they soon came to an open cavern that was lit by large torches burning on all sides of it. They did not see anyone, so they moved on into the cavern, moving to the right. Jim hoped they could get out of there quickly and find a way out of the holodeck.

As they neared the side of the cavern that had another tunnel, they could see more about the cavern which had a pit in the middle, and a "natural" bridge across it, and that pit was full of lava. "Jim, let's get out of here," Carol whispered.

Jim hurried over to the next tunnel entrance and started to enter it, and then there was a Klingon right in front of him. Jim jumped back so fast, he almost knocked Bones and Carol down. The Klingon was tall and as scary-looking as any they had ever seen.

Jim fired the blaster at the Klingon but he deflected the shot with his armor. Then he drew his bat'leth. "Jim!" Carol exclaimed.

Jim fired at the Klingon again as did the other two, but their shots had no effect, so they grabbed the bat'leths they had. The Klingon said something to them in his own language, and then brandished his large weapon. Jim had fought with a bat'leth before, and he would do it again. He charged at the Klingon and their blades clashed. He felt the vibration of that collision in his arms.

Bones maneuvered his way around to try and get behind the Klingon and swung his bat'leth at the back of the Klingon's legs, but it clanged on the armor. He studied the back of the Klingon trying to see any place in that armor that would be vulnerable. There had to be a vulnerable spot somewhere, and he knew it had to be at the joints.

Bones swung his bat'leth at the back of the Klingon's knees, and the Klingon let out a blood-curdling yell that they thought might have been heard outside the holodeck. Jim swung his bat'leth at the other vulnerable part of the armor which was the neck, and they watched the Klingon fall, glad that it was only a hologram which disappeared once they defeated him.

Bones stood there a moment trying to get his breath back, and Jim leaned against the rock wall. "For a minute there, I thought he was really invulnerable," Bones said.

"Good thing you found he wasn't," Jim replied.

"They have some sort of armor though. I hope this thing doesn't adjust every time we beat one."

"Bones."

"Sorry, but we're dealing with some sort of genius from the grave, you know."

"Yeah, and he can't reprogram this at all. It is how it is."

"Maybe that's the good thing unless there's some sub-routine that adjusts to situations."

"Well, let's get moving."

"Jim, why would Khan use Klingons to fight us?" Bones asked.

"It was Klingons that he fought when we were on Kronos. He went there to hide from us, and when he found out we had those torpedoes, he fought his way to us so he could get to them."

They looked at each other. "Is that his intention?" Bones asked. "If we get through all the Klingons, we get to fight him?"

Jim thought Bones could always come up with the worst scenario. "He could have programmed a hologram of himself into this…thing, or a thousand of them. Who knows?"

"There need be only one of me!"

Jim whirled around just in time to see a blur of Khan as he tackled him. Bones and Carol tried to grab him off Jim, but Khan kicked Bones in the chest, and then kicked both of Carol's feet out from under her. Jim managed to get out of his grasp but not for long. He punched Khan and then jerked his feet out from under him.

Bones and Carol were getting up, but Bones found himself facing a blaster. "NO!" Jim yelled and grabbed Khan. However, Bones got a glancing blow from the blaster and he fell to the cave floor.

"Bones!" Jim yelled, but he had no time to think of Bones' current situation as Khan turned his attention to him.

Carol grabbed the bat'leth and would have swung it at Khan, but he suddenly turned to her. She swallowed her fear and swung the bat'leth anyway but Khan grabbed it and jerked her off her feet, slamming her down onto her back.

Jim grabbed his own bat'leth as his rage at what just happened came to the fore. "You want a bloody fight to the death?" he asked glaring at Khan. "You're gonna get one!"

Khan turned to him with that ever-present arrogant look on his face. "I'm looking forward to it…Captain."


	3. Chapter 3

As the Enterprise came into orbit of a planet, Spock pressed the com button on the captain's chair. "Mister Scott, begin beaming the crew down to the planet," he said. "Once everyone is there, we will do what we can to rescue the captain and the others."

"Yes sir," Scotty replied.

Sulu looked at Spock. "You're sending us all down to the planet?" he asked.

"Yes, Mister Sulu," Spock said. "It is too dangerous to keep the entire crew on the ship. We do not know whether Khan has programmed a destruction sequence."

"But who's gonna watch after the ship while you're working?"

"We will take care of it, Mister Sulu. Now, I order all of you to the transporter room to be beamed down to the planet. We are wasting time by having this debate."

Sulu sighed. "Yes sir," he said.

Ensign McCoy did not like the idea of leaving either since his brother was also in the holodeck. When everyone else was off the Bridge, McCoy stopped to talk to Spock. "I want to stay, Commander," he said. "That's my brother in there."

"There is nothing you can do to help him, Ensign," Spock replied.

"How do you know? Maybe I can help Scotty."

"This is no time for defiance. I would appreciate your cooperation by obeying my orders. I would not want to have to tell the captain that you refused a direct order."

McCoy frowned. "Yes sir."

"I am sorry, Ensign. I understand your concern, but we will do everything we can to rescue the captain as well as your brother and Doctor Marcus."

"I know you will, Mister Spock."

"You will be informed of whatever happens."

John got into the turbo lift that would take him to the transporter room. He was soon at the corridor. He walked slowly toward the transporter room. He did not want to go down to that planet while his brother was stuck in that holodeck with some maniac. He had been ordered to go down to the planet…his commanding officer had ordered him. If he disobeyed that order, he would most likely be put off the ship, sent back to the academy, or worse. Would Captain Kirk dismiss him?

John took a deep breath and went on to the transporter room. Scotty was standing at the controls. "Okay, Laddy, you can go with this bunch," he said. He looked at John. "Do not worry. We're gonna figure out a way to get them out."

"I can't keep from worrying," John said. "That's my brother in there, and I don't want to go down to some planet…"

"You were ordered to. Now, get on the pad."

John reluctantly went on. He was not happy as the light encircled them and he was soon down on the planet. He felt like he had betrayed his own brother by just leaving him. Sulu was waiting for everyone. He went over to John. "Come on," he said.

"I don't like this," John said.

"Mister Scott is the best, and if it's at all possible, he'll get them out of there, and besides, we're gonna be talking to some technicians with Starfleet who might have more knowledge of holodecks."

"He's right," Uhura added as she walked up to them. "We're not out of the loop completely. While Mister Scott studies the program, we're going to be getting more information for him."

"And more information is the key," Sulu said.

John went along with them, but he still wished he was with his brother…even if he could not be in the holodeck.

Jim and Khan were fighting with the bat'leths, and it had already become a bloody battle since the blades on those weapons were razor sharp. They had both given each other small cuts. It was not easy fighting in such a way in a close area like the tunnel, but Jim was not going to give up. He was trying to keep Khan from pushing him back, but he realized they were already further from Bones and Carol. He decided that was probably best if they got away from Carol and Bones, so he turned and ran when he kicked Khan back once again. He knew he would follow him.

Carol could see what Jim was doing. "Jim," she whispered, but she got over to Bones. "Doctor McCoy." She could see where the laser had grazed the side of his head, and he was completely unconscious. "Doctor McCoy, can you hear me?" She patted his face. "Doctor McCoy."

Bones did not move at all. Carol took her communicator. "Mister Spock, can anyone hear me?" she asked. She did not get an answer. She would have to figure out how to get out of this mess herself, but she did not want to leave the doctor lying there alone. She could hear Jim down the tunnel as he continued to fight Khan.

"Doctor, you must wake up!" Carol said. "Come on!" She shook him. "Doctor McCoy! Wake up! Jim needs us!"

Bones moved his hand slightly and then moved his head. Carol patted his face. "Wake up, Doctor!" she said.

Bones finally opened his eyes. "Jim?"

"No! It's me, Carol!"

Bones looked at her, and he thought he knew why Jim liked her so well as he looked up into her pretty blue eyes. He realized what he was thinking. "Where's Jim?" he asked as he tried to sit up. He grimaced at the pain in his head.

"Jim is down there fighting Khan," Carol said. "We have to find a way out of here! Come on!"

Bones managed to get up with Carol helping him. "Whoa," he said as he felt very dizzy for a moment. He touched the side of his head and saw blood on his hand. He hated the sight of his own blood.

Carol grabbed his arm as he almost stumbled backward. "Listen!" she said. "We have to find a way out of here!" She knew he was still out of it just a little.

Bones looked at her. "I hear you," he said, but his eyes closed.

Carol shook him again. "You have to stay awake!"

"I'm awake."

"Let's get moving."

Bones felt like he was walking on cotton or something as they made their way through the tunnel. He kept a hand on the wall to keep his balance while Carol held to his other arm. She was glad the doctor had come along with Jim now that they were in this situation.

"There should be a way to find the controls," Carol said. "It can't be gone."

"This is like a maze," Bones replied. "We could keep going in circles."

"I wish we had a tricorder. At least maybe we could find the controls."

"Where did Jim go?"

"He led Khan away from us."

Bones could hear the sorrow in her voice. "We have to think about what direction we're going," he said. "If we keep going in circles, we're never going to find the controls."

"How do you suggest we do that? Do you have a compass?"

"A compass wouldn't work here, Sweetheart. We have to just orient ourselves."

"Don't call me that. Only Jim can call me that."

"Sorry."

They soon came to another cavern. "I don't think I want to go that way," Bones whispered. "What if we meet up with more Klingons?"

Carol certainly did not want to meet up with anymore of them but they did not have much choice but to keep going the way they were going. "Keep your eyes open for anything that looks like it doesn't belong," she said. "The controls have to be concealed somewhere."

"I don't think Khan would leave us a way out," Bones replied.

"Still, the holodeck is set up so that the controls are sealed but they do not look exactly like they fit in with the environment."

"Oh. I have to admit I don't know much about this thing."

"It's quite an enjoyable pastime when something like this doesn't happen."

"I think reading is a lot safer."

"Not near as much fun though."

Jim and Khan were still locked in battle. Jim was getting tired, but he knew Khan was not. He wanted to get this battle over with, but he wondered what would happen if he killed this hologram of Khan. Would another one appear? Jim had not been able to take the time to see what kind of wounds he had, but he could feel blood on him.

"You're getting weaker, Captain," Khan said.

Jim wondered just how well this thing was programmed, but he supposed Khan had programmed his very being into it, and it would respond exactly like he would. Jim panted for a moment as they stood staring at each other. His muscles were starting to tremble with fatigue. He just hoped he was giving Bones and Carol a chance to find a way out.

Khan's hologram suddenly attacked again raising the bat'leth over his head, and giving Jim no choice but to block with his own blade. Then Khan kicked him in the chest, and Jim fell hard on the floor of the cave, after his back glancing off the cave wall. He scrambled to get away from Khan as he was coming at him with the bat'leth.

Jim cried out as Khan managed to slice across the back of his shin. He thought that was a very sensitive part of the body, but he had no time to think about the pain he was in because Khan was not finished. Jim got the bat'leth up in time to block the blades of Khan's. He had to get up from the floor! But Khan was determined to keep him down there.

Jim managed to trip the hologram and he fell backward. Jim got up as quickly as he could but his leg did not want to hold him up. He tried to keep most of his weight on his left leg since it was the right that had gotten cut. The hologram Khan attacked with as much fury as the real one would have. Jim had to fight to keep his footing…and his life.

Scotty was now in an access tube trying to access the controls of the holodeck. "This would be a lot easier if I didn't have to be crawling!" he said over the communicator.

Solan rolled his eyes at that. He looked at Spock. "Now, you see what I hear every time I help him do maintenance?"

"Mister Scott, have you found a way to bypass the controls?" Spock asked.

"I just now got to the right relay! Give me time, you pointy eared…"

They did not hear the rest of what Scotty said as he dropped his communicator. They were used to hearing Scotty call people names, and knew he meant nothing by it. "I have to find out what's controlling that program, and find out if there's anything else attached to it to cause a chain reaction," Scotty said. "This is no easy task!"

"Do you see anything, Mister Scott?" Spock asked. "We must work fast. The captain's life may depend on it."

"I know that! You don't have to keep reminding me! Only makes me more nervous! Solan, I need you in here. Spock can handle anything that we need done out there."

Solan looked at Spock. "Do I have to go in there with him?" he asked.

"Don't ask him that!" Scotty said. "Get your…"

"Alright! You don't have to get mean about it. You need to lay off the caffeine."

"Don't tell me what I need to do!"

Spock could hear that bantering as Solan walked away toward the access tube. He had heard plenty of banter among several members of the crew. He himself participated in the same thing with Jim and the doctor. He thought it was just a way to keep sane to humans. He had learned to just go along with it, and besides, it was sometimes rather fun. He would never let them know that but he enjoyed bickering at times. It was amazing to him that they could argue in such a way, even insult each other, and still remain friends. He thought his life would be very dull without his…friends, now. He had never actually had a friend until Jim Kirk showed him what a true friend was.

Solan crawled down the access tube to where Scotty was. "It's about time," Scotty said.

"Don't rush me," Solan replied. "What do you want me to do?"

"Oh, so now you're in a hurry."

"You're a real grouch, you know that?"

"I like being a grouch! Stuck in the middle of space with all of you is enough to make anyone a grouch."

Scotty looked into the power relay. "Tell me if anything happens right over there," he said.

Solan removed another panel where he could see what looked like bags of gel. "Okay, I'm looking," he said.

"Now."

Solan was surprised to see one of the gel packs light up. "Uh, something just happened. One of them lit up."

Scotty frowned as he backed up and removed his goggles. "It's definitely attached to cause a reaction." He looked at Solan. "We have to block the reaction before we can do anything to free the captain."

Solan could see the seriousness on Scotty's face. "You think we can?" he asked.

"It's not going to be easy, Laddy, and it's going to take time."

"We'll just have to work as long and hard as we can."

"Aye."

Scotty picked up his communicator. "Mister Spock."

"Yes, Mister Scott," Spock answered.

"We've got a big problem, Sir. We can't do anything to help the captain until we can block this chain reaction."

"How long will it take?"

"I don't know, Sir, but we can't rush it or we could blow them and us to kingdom come."

"I would prefer to avoid that."

"So would I."

Spock thought he was learning just exactly what tension was, and he had learned plenty about it since he had joined this crew with Jim as the captain. He had learned not to take death so lightly because the humans who surrounded him did not see it as anything joyous, but something to avoid. He certainly did not want his friends to perish in the holodeck.

Just then, Spock's communicator whistled with another message. "Spock here," he answered.

"Spock, Mister Sulu and I have been talking to some Starfleet technicians about the holodeck," Uhura said. "They might be able to help."

"I believe Mister Scott has figured out the problem. The bigger problem is knowing how to block the chain reaction that will occur if anyone attempts to override the program that is running. We have no way of knowing what is happening to the captain and the others."

John McCoy was listening to that message. He hated the thought that his brother was in there, and could be dying. "Is there no way to beam someone into the holodeck?" he asked. "I'll go, Commander."

Spock knew how McCoy felt. He had felt the same way when Uhura was trapped in Krall's compound, and he had asked the captain to let him go in there just because she was there. "We cannot do that at the moment, Ensign," he said. "However if the need does arise, I will contact you."

"Thank you."

"Uhura, keep talking to the technicians. Tell them what I have told you and see if they know a way to stop the chain reaction. It is attached to the relays, and will reach all the way to the warp core."

"It would destroy the entire ship," Uhura said.

"Yes."

"I'll find out all we can."

They ended the transmission. Uhura looked at Sulu. "It will destroy everyone on that ship," she said.

"I hope they find a way to get in there," Sulu replied. "They could have let us stay aboard to help."

"We should just cooperate and do all we can. They're trying to spare as many of us as they can."

"I know, but they're all important too."


	4. Chapter 4

Jim was trying to get down the tunnel he was in. He had managed to get away from Khan…at least for now. He could barely walk on his right leg, and he had gotten another cut across his hand in that last battle. He was holding onto the bat'leth. It was such a heavy weapon, he wished he could find something else. He was a strong person, and he worked out, but his strength was starting to wane. He fell over a large stone in the tunnel. He lay there only a moment wishing he could just stay, but he had to get up.

As Jim kept on going, he heard someone coming behind him. He knew it had to be Khan. It seemed to be Khan's goal to weaken him rather than just kill him all at once. He wanted him to suffer.

With a yell of rage, Khan attacked again. Jim barely avoided the blade that time, and he was against the wall of the cave trying to hold Khan back as their blades were together. "You are weakening!" Khan said.

Jim could feel his muscles trembling. He was definitely weakening, but he would not give up. With a yell of strain, he pushed Khan back until he could get out of the struggle. He stood there a moment, panting as he watched Khan with his smug look of confidence. Jim was beginning to wonder if he was going to survive this. He would have already died if he had not been determined. The only weapon he had was the bat'leth now, but he sure wished he had something lighter.

Suddenly, Khan came at him again. Jim blocked his attack as he had been doing. He had gone completely on the defensive rather than attacking himself. He was too tired to make any progress, although he had caused some wounds on his opponent. However, his opponent was a hologram and did not get tired.

This time, Khan managed to disarm Jim, and Jim found himself flat of his back with the bat'leth blade to his throat. He did not dare move. "Why don't you just go ahead and kill me and stop gloating over it!" he said.

"Oh, not yet, Captain. I want you to see someone else die first."

Scotty had just about tracked down what the program was attached to. "We've got it," he said. "Now, we have to put what I'll call a _breaker_ on each one of these. When that power surge tries to go through here, this will shut the system down."

"Brilliant," Solan replied. "Then what?"

"Then we have the more complicated problem of getting into that program."

"Just when I thought it was getting easier…"

Scotty and Solan managed to get the "breakers" on all the attached relays. "That guy was really prepared," Scotty said. "When did he have time to do all this?"

"Well, from what I've been told about the guy, he probably didn't have to have a lot of time," Solan replied. "He knew what he was doing in the short time he was here."

"Now, we're trying to unravel the work of a super genius."

"Mister Scott, have you made any progress?" Spock asked.

"Yes, sir," Scotty answered. "We've figured out the relays, and once we get them blocked, we can try to get into the program."

Spock thought that all sounded very complicated even for his genius brain, but he was glad Scotty could figure it out. "Is there anything that I can help with?" he asked.

"Not at the moment. I'll let you know."

"How many relays are attached to this program?"

"As far as I know, there are thirty. I hope there are no more hidden. This is very complicated, Mister Spock."

"We must be certain that there is nothing else attached."

"That's what I'm trying to do."

Spock looked at the holodeck controls which gave a clear indication that the program was still running. "Once you have the relays blocked, will you be able to transport us into the holodeck?" he asked.

Scotty considered that while he blocked another relay. "I'm not certain of anything at the moment."

Spock thought he was beginning to learn what impatience was. He did not want to find his friends dead in this holodeck, and he wanted to get to them now…but that was impossible.

Khan had gotten Jim up and they were on their way back down the tunnel toward the area where Bones and Carol were. Jim could feel blood running down his body in several places…or maybe it was dried now. He did not know how badly he was injured but he had fought until Khan had taken advantage of his waning strength.

Carol and Bones had made it to what she hoped was the front of the holodeck. "Computer, where are the controls?" she asked.

" _Unable to answer that question."_

"Why?"

There was no answer. "Wait," Bones said. "I just saw a glitch over there."

They hurried to the area and when they touched it, the hologram cleared up so that they could see that it was indeed the controls. "Perhaps we can override the program," Carol said.

"There has to be a sub-routine installed for it to take over like this," Bones said. "Right?"

"Right. We just have to figure out where it is, and how to shut it down."

"I can't believe Khan would make it that easy."

"I never said it would be that easy."

Carol turned on the intercom that should allow them to contact someone outside the holodeck. "Can anyone hear me?" she asked as she pressed the button.

Spock was surprised to hear Carol's voice. He pressed the blinking button on the console. "Doctor Marcus," he said.

"Spock! Khan has us trapped in here!"

"We know, Doctor. Is anyone injured?"

"Yes, but we're all alive. Khan has taken Jim away from us in a bat'leth battle. We don't know Jim's condition now."

"Mister Scott is working on a solution to this problem."

"Khan has programmed himself into this holodeck program. The hologram reacts just like he would, and it adjusts."

"Do you know anything else?"

Just then, Khan came around the corner of the tunnel. "Transmission over!" he said and fired at the console.

Carol screamed as she barely moved in time to keep from getting shot herself. Bones grabbed Carol and tried to put himself between her and Khan. He would not stand by and let him kill her if he could help it.

"Doctor Marcus!" Spock said. He had heard part of the chaos before the console went into sparks. He grabbed his communicator. "Mister Scott, we have to hurry! Doctor Marcus contacted me. They are in grave danger!"

Scotty was already sweating with his task, and trying to do it faster. "We're working as fast as we can, Mister Spock!" he said.

"I am afraid our friends do not have much time."

Scotty could hear the strain even in Spock's voice as he relayed that message. "We can't do anything until we get these blocked!"

Carol and Bones faced Khan now, and Jim faced them as well with that look he always had when he was trying to find a way out of a situation. "Do you think I will not fire through you to get her?" Khan asked.

Bones knew it would do no good to try and reason with a hologram. "You may kill us both, but you'll still be dead," he said.

"But your friend here will see your dead _bones_ before he dies."

Jim hated the way Khan used their names as an insult or intimidation technique. He would not stand here and allow him to kill his friends. He would find some way. "Move, Bones," he said.

Bones was surprised that he said that, but he thought he must have some plan in mind, and he wished he knew what it was. "You want me to just let him kill her?" he asked.

"I don't want to see both of you die."

Carol could not believe he said that, but she had to believe there was something else behind his sudden attitude change. "Move, Bones," Jim said. "That's an order."

Bones just stared at Jim a moment but he moved from in front of Carol…

Scotty finally got the last breaker on the relays. "Let's get to the controls now!" he said to Solan.

Solan was ready to move. They hurried out of the access tube while Scotty went through yet another rant about having to crawl rather than run. Solan thought sometimes he was just trying to keep his mind off the seriousness of the situation. They ran down to the controls for the holodeck. "Alright, Laddy," Scotty said as he ripped the cover off the whole station.

"Hurry, Mister Scott," Spock said.

"Don't say that again, Sir. With all due respect."

"I will attempt to comply with that request. Let me know how I can help."

Scotty jerked a large cable out of the console. "Hold on to that," he said. "Don't let it snap back in there."

Spock grabbed the cable and held it firmly. Scotty squatted down to the lower part of the console. "Solan, when I say now, I want you to clamp this down on that wire right there," he said.

Solan took the clamp and got his finger on the right wire. Scotty stood up and began working …

The Khan hologram just stood a moment and Bones noticed a waver that ran over the image. He thought maybe Scotty and the others were about to get something done, and he thought maybe it was interfering with the movement of Khan's hologram…and maybe its thinking too.

Khan pulled a long-bladed knife from a sheath on his side as he kept a blaster pointed at Jim's head. Bones hoped Jim would do something soon because he did not intend to let Khan stab Carol with that blade.

Jim locked eyes with Carol. She could see his love for her even just looking into his eyes. Bones watched them a moment and wondered if they had some sort of silent communication going. He had known what true love was once.

Suddenly, everything sprang into motion, and Jim felt like he was seeing it in slow motion. Khan hit Jim with the blaster to knock him down, and then he headed for Carol with the knife which he intended to plunge into her aiming up. "NO!" Jim yelled, but as he tried to scramble to his feet, Bones stepped in the path of the blade.

Carol screamed as she was caught in the corner of the cave entrance and could not maneuver her way out, and Bones took the full force of Khan's momentum pinning her against the wall. Jim got over the initial shock of what he just saw happen, and he tackled Khan, grabbing his legs. However, Khan had time to jerk the knife, or dagger, out of Bones' mid-section before he went down.

Carol kept Bones from falling hard on the floor, but he went down to his knees. Jim grabbed Khan's hand that had the blade in it to keep him from stabbing him. His real goal was to get that blade from him and stab him, and maybe this program would end, but he could not maneuver lying on his back with Khan trying to overpower him.

Bones gasped for air. Carol helped him lie down. "I wasn't going to let him watch you die," he whispered.

"You're not going to die either!" Carol said. She ran to the console again. Khan had missed the main part of the communicator with his blaster. She pressed the button. "Spock!"

Spock looked at the flashing light of the communicator but he could not let go of the cable he was holding. "Mister Scott, how much longer?" he asked.

Scotty was having to wipe sweat off his hands because he was so nervous and trying to hurry. He did not even want to answer that question because he had heard the desperation in Carol's voice. He hated the fact that they were right on the other side of the door and they could not get to them. He had to be careful and do this right or he could mess up the whole thing and end up killing them himself.

Jim finally managed to get Khan off him and they both stood up. Khan was not wasting any time, however, and he was already coming at Jim again before he had his footing grounded. He managed to avoid that blade the first time, but then Khan swung it at him, cutting him across his chest. Jim grunted with that pain, but he had no time to think about it as Khan intended to bring the blade back into his left side. He grabbed Khan's knife wielding arm and shoved him into the cave wall, grabbing him by the throat with his other hand. He was not sure that would work on a hologram, but he was ready to try anything.

Khan rammed his other fist into Jim's ribs causing him to lose his grip on his neck. Jim drew back his fist then and punched Khan. He remembered punching him until his muscles almost gave out the first time he every met this horror. This was just a hologram but he still had the same hate and arrogance of his creator.

Jim grabbed the knife hand with both his hands trying to get the knife from him, but then someone else was beside him. With a yell of effort, Carol plunged a dagger of her own into Khan's chest. His grip on the knife definitely lessened, and Jim managed to get it from him. He and Carol then got Khan down on the floor and Jim stabbed him again with the longer blade, hoping that this hologram would die, but he did not stop with only one stab.

Carol knew it was just a hologram, but she had never wanted to kill anyone. However, this was life or death for them. She and Jim sat and watched the hologram and it soon disappeared. Jim thought he would collapse as he dropped the knife. He could feel his whole body trembling.

"Jim!" Carol exclaimed as she hurried back over to Bones.

Jim looked around at his friend lying on the cave floor. He ran to him. "Bones!"

Bones held up his hand that was covered in blood. "I guess I'm gonna know how my patients feel," he said struggling to breathe.

Carol was starting to cry now as she ran to the console again. "Spock!"

"We're almost there, Lassy!" Scotty said, but they could not make it so she could hear him. "Now, Solan!"

Solan clamped the wire he had been holding for what seemed like forever. Sparks emanated from it as Scotty got the last thing in place…


	5. Chapter 5

Jim was pressing Bones' wound, trying to stop the bleeding when suddenly, the holodeck became just that…only a holodeck. Everything else disappeared and they were in the gray room that created all the scenarios. "Hang in there, Bones!" he said. "They're going to get to us!"

Bones stared at the ceiling feeling very light headed. Carol leaned over him. "Doctor McCoy!" she yelled. She could see that he was going into shock.

Scotty pulled out a small box from the console and cut the wires from it. He grabbed the wires and stuck them together, and the door of the holodeck slid open. "Solan, get in there!" he yelled as he was securing the two wires together.

Spock could not let go of the cable he was holding yet, but he was looking into the holodeck and could see the doctor lying on the floor. "Mister Scott, we must hurry!" he said as he could see blood on the floor.

"I'm hurrying!" Scotty replied. He finally got the wires secured. "Okay!"

Spock let go of the cable and hurried into the holodeck. Scotty thought he would collapse from all the strain. He rubbed his face and then went into the holodeck himself.

"Mister Scott, go to the transporter and get the medical team up here!" Spock said. "If there is a doctor down there, bring them too!"

"Yes sir!" Scotty turned and ran for the transporter room.

Spock and Solan looked at Jim who was still trying to hold Bones' blood in. "Jim, you are injured as well," Spock pointed out.

"We can't let him die!" Jim said.

"The medical team will soon be on their way."

"Bones!"

Bones was not responding to anyone but he was not unconscious yet…

Scotty arrived at the transporter room. He contacted Uhura and explained the situation as quickly as he could. "We need them here now!" Scotty said.

"They're here waiting, Mister Scott," Uhura replied. "Transport them and us."

"Ready for transport."

Uhura, Sulu, Ensign McCoy, and the medical team were soon appearing on the transporter pad. They had also brought a doctor with them, as Uhura had anticipated that there would most likely be a need.

They were soon all running for the holodeck, not knowing who was injured. Ensign John McCoy was the first to arrive at the holodeck. He saw his brother lying on the floor with blood all over him, and Captain Kirk was trying to stop his bleeding.

As John stood there stunned, the medical team came rushing in, as well as Uhura and Sulu. "You shouldn't be in here," Sulu said.

"Yes I should!" John replied. He ran to his brother. "Leo!"

Bones did not respond as he did not know what was going on around him now. Jim and the others backed up to give the medical team room to work. Jim stood up, staggering just a bit. Spock got over to him. "Jim, you're injured," he said.

Jim looked at Spock, and then almost collapsed, but Spock did not let him fall. "Jim." He realized Jim was completely exhausted.

"Just let me sleep, Spock," Jim said.

Carol was standing behind Jim, and she just put her arms around him. For a while, she had wondered if any of them would get out of that alive.

Scotty felt like he could collapse himself. His hands felt shaky and he was not sure he had ever felt quite as nervous as he did this time. Carol turned to him. "Mister Scott, you saved our lives," she said and just hugged him.

"I'm glad I could," Scotty replied.

Spock had laid Jim down on the floor until they could get him to the medical bay. Right now, the medical team was working on Bones with no time to move him before they did part of the procedure there.

Once it was safe to move Bones, they got him onto a gurney. Jim and Carol were also carried to the medical bay. Carol thought she had come out of that situation rather well according to the condition of Doctor McCoy and Jim. They had tried to keep Khan away from her. She supposed that was just how they were…trying to be her knights.

Later that day, Jim sat straight up on the medical bed. He had been dreaming that he was still in that holodeck. "Jim, you are safe now," Spock said.

Jim still felt shaky but he remembered now that they had gotten out of that thing. "How's Bones?" he asked.

"He is recovering, but he is still unconscious."

"Where's Carol?"

"I advised her to go and get some rest. I had to promise not to leave your side before she would do so."

Jim lay back down. "What happened, Spock?" he asked. "How did that happen?"

"Mister Scott determined that Khan had programmed the holodeck program to activate when you entered the holodeck for the tenth time. I believe he installed this program when we were on Pacifica, as we know that he entered the ship."

"He did this to try and kill me even if he didn't survive."

"Yes, Captain. It was a very complex program and they are working to free the ship from it as it was connected to almost every relay in the ship which would have caused a chain reaction to destroy the entire ship. We have docked the ship on the planet so that the technicians can help Mister Scott. He and Solan have worked tirelessly."

Jim realized then that he was not in the medical bay on the ship. "So we're on the planet?"

"Yes."

"Where's Bones?"

"He is in intensive care, and is being watched over carefully."

"He saved Carol's life. Khan would have…" Jim closed his eyes as he did not want to remember. "Sometimes I wish there was a way to erase memories."

"Captain, our memories are what make us who we are. I felt this way when my planet was destroyed, but it is a memory that I will have to live with, and remember my planet as it was before…as well as my mother."

Jim looked at Spock. He had never considered the fact that Spock was haunted by that memory when he saw his mother fall out of his grasp. Spock did not show his emotions, and never spoke of his sadness. "I'm sorry I haven't considered your feelings more, Spock," Jim said.

"You needn't be sorry, Jim," Spock replied. "We have all suffered losses since we have embarked on this journey together, but I believe it has brought us all closer together and has made us into an even better team. The entire crew is very efficient because of our loyalty to each other."

"I realize that."

"A team that accomplishes this has a good leader."

"Maybe but they're just good at what they do."

Just then, Carol walked into the medical bay. She smiled with relief as she saw that Jim was awake. She walked over to his bed. "Jim, how do you feel?" she asked.

"I'm very sore," Jim replied.

Carol leaned over him and kissed him. "My knight in shining armor," she said.

Jim smiled. "I don't know about that. If you hadn't helped me, I don't think I would have beaten him."

"I don't think I will want to be on the holodeck for a very long time."

"Hey, we didn't get to do our novel. I'm sure Scotty will make that the most secure holodeck in the fleet."

Carol kissed him again, and they just looked into each other's eyes. "I love you, Jim," she said.

"I love you too," Jim replied.

"I have no doubt that we can get through anything together."

"I agree."

Spock stood up. "I will let you know when there is progress with the ship, Captain," he said.

"Thank you, Spock," Jim replied.

"I will go and visit the doctor as well."

Spock left the area where Jim was and went to the intensive care where Bones was. To Spock's surprised, Bones opened his eyes when he came up to his bed. "Doctor," Spock said. "I was not aware that you had awakened."

Bones did not say anything for a moment. "Did you have to be the first person I saw?" he asked, trying to be as sarcastic as he ever was.

"I see you have not lost your sense of humor along with half your blood volume."

"As long as they didn't give me yours."

"That would not be possible."

"Is Jim okay?"

"Yes. He is recovering, and Doctor Marcus is doing well."

"I wasn't going to let him watch her die."

"Jim?"

"Yeah. You wouldn't understand I don't guess."

"I understand more than you think, Doctor. Jim and Carol have a deep love for each other."

"Are you never going to stop calling me 'Doctor'? You called me Leonard once."

"That was an attempt to let you know that I do consider you as a friend, even though we insult each other quite often."

Bones almost laughed but it hurt. "Don't make me laugh," he said. "It just makes the trip less dull."

"I realize that."

Bones looked at him. "You do?"

"Yes. The longer I am around this crew, the more I realize that humor is important."

"Well, I never thought I would hear that."

"I am…glad that you are recovering, Leonard. It would be quite a dull trip without your form of humor."

Bones almost laughed again. "Please, don't make me laugh. It hurts."

"I will let the captain know that you are awake. I am sure he will be happy as well."

"Well, you can tell them that they don't have to get all mushy about what I did."

"I am sure Doctor Marcus will thank you, and Jim as well. He has already mentioned the fact that you saved Carol's life."

"I would do it again…but I hope I don't have to."

"I will be in to see you again."

With that, Spock turned and left the intensive care area. He stopped and told Jim and Carol that Bones was awake. "I am pleased to say that he is his same old self," Spock said.

Jim smiled. "Why? Is he already insulting you?"

"He has not lost his sense of humor."

"What would we do without that?"

"I believe it would be a very dull trip. If you will excuse me, Captain."

Jim nodded and Spock left. Jim looked at Carol. "I want to get in there to see him," he said.

"You're not cleared to get up yet," Carol replied.

"I'm not as tired as I was before."

"I don't think I have ever slept so soundly. I was so tired."

"I'm just glad we didn't have to face another Khan hologram. I was expecting…"

Carol put her hand on his mouth. "Please, let's just try not to think of what could have happened," she said.

"Right."

Later that day, Jim went to see Bones who was sleeping when he walked in. John was there, and he stood up. "Captain," he said.

"As you were, Ensign." Jim could see that John was tired. "How's our sarcastic doctor here?"

"He's improving."

Jim stood beside the bed a moment and then leaned over to Bones. "I think you're enjoying this too much," he said quietly.

Bones was just a little startled but he realized it was Jim. "I'm glad to see you standing up," he said.

"I'm glad to see you breathing," Jim replied seriously.

Bones looked at him. "I wasn't going to let you watch her die, Jim," he said. "I saw that…well, I just wasn't."

Jim had never seen Bones when he was not pretending to be angrier than he really was, or being sarcastic or cynical. "Don't stand there and stare at me," Bones said.

"You know I think I have learned more about the people on this crew since we've been on this mission than I ever knew when we were at the academy," Jim said.

"I don't think you took much time to get to know much about anyone…except women." Bones looked at him. "But I guess everyone matures eventually."

"I have to say thank you…for saving her life."

"You don't have to go on about that. You would have done it."

"Yeah, I intended to."

"But you couldn't. Khan saw to that. Even that hologram was as sadistic and heartless as the real one. I hope we never see him again."

"I don't think we will. That should be the last of that."

"I'm not sure I trust holodecks anymore either. If glitches like that can happen…"

"Scotty's learning more about that thing and making it more secure even as we speak."

"I still think it'll be a while before I want to even walk through anymore corn fields."

Jim smiled. "I don't mind the corn field anymore. I think it would be quite relaxing."

"You may be right. I can't remember ever getting into any trouble in a corn field except maybe getting lost. I sure never met any sadistic, blood thirsty maniacs who wanted to kill me."

"Neither did I." Jim was silent a moment. "You take care and do what these doctors tell you."

"Don't worry. I'm going to be a very good patient."

"I'll see you later."

Jim left the room. He limped slightly on his right leg since that wound was taking longer to heal. He went to the communications station. He smiled as he saw Uhura there. "Captain, it's so good to see you well," she said.

"It's good to be up," Jim replied. "How is everything going on the ship?"

"Scotty is working hard to make sure nothing like this can happen again. I also contacted Starfleet and let them know what happened. It's very disturbing."

"I'll say."

Jim walked on and went to the ship to see just exactly what Scotty was doing. He was surprised as he came to the holodeck. Scotty had the entire control system pulled out. "Captain," he said looking a little surprised.

"Mister Scott, what are you doing?" Jim asked.

"I'm working on this thing. I guarantee you nothing like that will ever happen again."

"Have you had any rest?"

Scotty stood up. "I got a few hours sleep, but I had to get to work on this right away."

Jim nodded. "You guys worked together so well, and you saved our lives."

"I…" Scotty was not sure what to say. "It was our duty, Captain."

"I'm beginning to think we're all more than just a ship crew. I'll let you get back to work."

"It's about time," Solan said over the intercom.

"Don't get sassy with me," Scotty replied.

Jim smiled. "Where is he?"

"Where else would I be?" Solan asked. "I'm in the access tube!"

Jim did laugh then. "Why should I have to go in that thing when I can send him?" Scotty asked. "After all, I outrank him."

"Will you just get on with this?" Solan asked. "You're a time waster!"

"Don't call me a time waster, you lazy leech. I'll come in there and belt you one."

"I doubt it since you loathe crawling."

"I do! And I'll not hear anymore sass from you!"

Jim could not help but laugh as he walked on. He thought conflicts brought them all closer together rather than making them more afraid. They could depend on each other and get through anything together.


End file.
